Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To determine the prevalence of polycystic ovaries (PCO) and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in lesbian women compared with heterosexual women undergoing fertility treatment.
DESIGN:
A prospective observational study.
SETTING:
The London Women's clinic and The Hallam Medical Center. Tertiary referral fertility setup.
PATIENT(S):
Six hundred eighteen women undergoing ovarian stimulation with or without IUI treatment between November 2001 and January 2003. Of these, 254 were self-identified as lesbians and 364 were heterosexual women.
INTERVENTION(S):
Baseline pelvic ultrasound examination and blood tests conducted to measure biochemical parameters such as FSH, LH, E(2), PRL, T, androstenedione (A), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and DHEAS were performed between day 2 and 3 of each woman's menstrual cycle. Tubal patency tests were performed by hysterosalpingography or laparoscopy.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S):
Biochemical parameters.
RESULT(S):
Eighty percent of lesbian women, compared with 32% of the heterosexual women, had PCO on pelvic ultrasound examination. Thirty-eight percent of lesbian women, compared with 14% of heterosexual women, had PCOS. There were no significant differences in the androgen concentrations between lesbian and heterosexual women with normal ovaries. However, lesbian women with PCO and PCOS had significantly higher androgen concentrations compared with heterosexual women with PCO and PCOS. Tubal disease was as common in lesbian women as in heterosexual women.
CONCLUSION(S):
There is a significantly higher prevalence of PCO and PCOS in lesbian compared with heterosexual women. Lesbian women with either PCO or PCOS had more pronounced hyperandrogenism than did heterosexual women with either PCO or PCOS.
Another study:
Sexual orientation in women with classical or non-classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia as a function of degree of prenatal androgen excess.
Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15533359
Abstract:
46,XX individuals with classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to deficiency of the enzyme, 21-hydroxylase, show variable degrees of masculinization of body and behavior due to excess adrenal androgen production. Increased bisexuality and homosexuality have also been reported. This article provides a review of existing reports of the latter and presents a new study aimed at replicating the previous findings with detailed assessments of sexual orientation on relatively large samples, and at extending the investigation to the mildest form, non-classical (NC) CAH. Also, this is the first study to relate sexual orientation to the specific molecular genotypes of CAH. In the present study, 40 salt-wasters (SW), 21 SV (simple-virilizing), 82 NC, and 24 non-CAH control women (sisters and female cousins of CAH women) were blindly administered the Sexual Behavior Assessment Schedule (SEBAS-A, 1983 ed.; H. F. L. Meyer-Bahlburg & A. A. Ehrhardt, Privately printed). Most women were heterosexual, but the rates of bisexual and homosexual orientation were increased above controls not only in women with classical CAH, but also in NC women, and correlated with the degree of prenatal androgenization. Classifying women by molecular genotypes did not further increase the correlation. Diverse aspects of sexual orientation were highly intercorrelated, and principal components analysis yielded one general factor. Bisexual/homosexual orientation was (modestly) correlated with global measures of masculinization of non-sexual behavior and predicted independently by the degree of both prenatal androgenization and masculinization of childhood behavior. We conclude that the findings support a sexual-differentiation perspective involving prenatal androgens on the development of sexual orientation.
Related Articles:
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): Causes, Symptoms and Treatments
Homosexuality as a Consequence of Epigenetically Canalized Sexual Development
Androgens and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Androgen Excess in PCOS Throughout the Life Cycle
Is your reproductive system being affected by BPA?
Quote:
Bisphenol A (BPA) - researchers at the University of Athens Medical School in Greece found higher BPA levels in women with PCOS compared to other women of the same age. They also found a significant positive association between male sex hormones and BPS in women with PCOS. This suggests that BPA probably has a role in ovarian dysfunction.
BPA is a common industrial compound used in dental materials, plastic consumer products, and food and drink packaging. Study leader, Evanthia Diamanti-Kandarakis, MD, PhD, said "These women should be alert to the potential risks and take care of themselves by avoiding excessive every-day consumption of food or drink from plastic containers."
BPA is a common industrial compound used in dental materials, plastic consumer products, and food and drink packaging. Study leader, Evanthia Diamanti-Kandarakis, MD, PhD, said "These women should be alert to the potential risks and take care of themselves by avoiding excessive every-day consumption of food or drink from plastic containers."
BEFORE you go out buying a bunch of "BPA-free" labeled products, please consider this article:
BPA Free Plastic Containers may be just as hazardous
BPA-Free Plastic Is Toxic, Too. Here are Some Good Alternatives
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As someone who suffers with this disease (and has had it since the age of 12), I found this article interesting. Also though it may help others know what chemicals to avoid exposing to their bodies.
God bless heart